The 37-year-old food writer and recipe developer from Berkley, Michigan., began dabbling with gluten-free baking because of the culinary challenges it presented.

“Gluten-free baking was a whole new ... interesting field of sort ... to get involved in and experiment with,” she said.

At the same time, Howard said, she began to experience gastro problems and stomach pain. Opting for a holistic approach, she put herself on an elimination diet to see whether food was the culprit. After forgoing and then reintroducing a series of common food allergens, Howard discovered gluten was affecting her health.

“It was a weird coincidence that after I started getting interested [in gluten-free] as a casual observer, it then became kind of a necessity,” she said.

Nearly all recipes come with a recipe note about a specific ingredient or a tip or a technique.

To make the hummus: In a small skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over low heat for 1 minute. Add garlic and sauté for 3 minutes or until garlic is fragrant and turning light brown. Remove from heat and place garlic and oil in a food processor. Add chickpeas, lemon, tahini, cumin and salt. Blend until smooth, adding a little more oil or some water if the hummus is still chunky. Blend again. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.To make the rolls: Trim away any ragged edges from the collard leaves. Cut off the bottom 3 inches of the tough rib. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the leaves. Cook uncovered for 3 minutes, use tongs to promptly remove and let drain.Spread a leaf out on a plate or cutting board and place a spoonful of tuna in the lower third of the leaf. Add radish slices, carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, and a hearty dab of hummus. Fold bottom of leaf up onto the filling. Fold in each edge of the leaf and then roll up, turning it over and tucking in the sides until the leaf is a neat package. Place seam-side down. Repeat with remaining leaves.

FROSTING3.5 ounces dark chocolate (75% to 85% cacao)½ cup heavy cream, chilledPreheat oven to 325 degrees and thoroughly grease an 8-by-8-inch glass pan.To make the cake: Place yolks, eggs, sucanat and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Whip on high for 4 full minutes with a hand mixer or a standing mixer. Quickly whip in the flours, baking powder and melted butter. Pour batter into the pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and warm. Let cake cool before frosting.To make the frosting: Place a large mixing bowl and the beaters in the freezer. Break up the chocolate and place in a small saucepan over the lowest heat setting. Melt slowly, stirring often. Remove from heat when the chocolate still has a few bumps and continue stirring to finish melting the chocolate. Set aside.Pour cream into the chilled bowl and whip with the chilled beaters until you have fluffy but still smooth cream. Whip in the melted chocolate.Frost the cooled cake and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to set the frosting. Leftover cake can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.Cook’s note: Make powdered sucanat by running granular sucanat through a coffee/spice grinder until powdery. When you refrigerate the cake for more than a few hours, the ganache frosting will harden, so it’s best to let any leftover slices sit out at room temperature for an hour to soften before serving.

Moroccan Almond and Lamb Meatballs

Makes: About 50 / Preparation time: 30 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

1 pound ground lamb or ½ pound ground beef plus ½ pound ground lambAbout 1 tablespoon minced red onion2 cloves garlic, peeled, mincedGrated zest of 1 orange2 teaspoons cumin2 teaspoons coriander1 tablespoon dried mint1 teaspoon sea salt1 egg½ cup almond flourMix lamb with onion, garlic, orange, cumin, coriander, mint, salt and egg. Add enough almond flour to make a mixture that is dry enough to easily roll into 1-inch balls. If you overshoot on the dryness, add another egg and gradually add in more ground almonds until you hit the right consistency.Sauté balls over medium heat for 4 minutes or until all “sides” are nicely browned, shaking the pan often to make sure the meatballs cook evenly. (When you think they’re done, remove one and cut it in half to see whether it’s cooked through.) If the meatballs stick to the pan while cooking, add a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and carefully move them around to release them.Serve on a large plate with a toothpick stuck into each meatball to make it easier for guests to serve themselves.Cook’s note: Mint is also a main ingredient in Greek tzatziki, a yogurt-based condiment flavored with mint, garlic, cucumbers, and often lemon juice. A dollop of plain whole-milk Greek yogurt would be a nice accompaniment to these meatballs, or make a quick version of tzatziki by combining yogurt with minced seedless cucumber, a clove of minced garlic, some chopped fresh mint, and a squeeze of lemon juice.

CRACKER DOUGH¼ cup plantain flour or corn flour (not cornstarch)¼ cup whole cornmeal½ cup brown rice flour½ cup fava bean flour or chickpea flour1 teaspoon sea salt1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil½ cup water, or more as neededPreheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.For the topping: In a small bowl combine all the ingredients and set aside.To make the cracker dough: In a large bowl, whisk the flours and sea salt together. Add the oil and water and stir until you have a firm dough that isn’t too wet but also isn’t crumbly. You should be able to easily shape the dough into balls. If it’s too crumbly, trickle in more water to reach the right consistency, adding 1 tablespoon at a time.Divide the dough into 4 small balls and work with one at a time. Place a ball on the parchment-covered baking sheet and pat down to flatten. Sprinkle the dough with the seed topping. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough directly onto the parchment, adding more seeds if the dough starts sticking to the rolling pin. Gently flip the dough and repeat on the other side. When the disk is flattened to a rectangle that’s about ¼-inch thick, (it’ll take up about one-quarter of the baking sheet), slide it to one corner of the sheet and repeat the process with the other 3 balls of dough. Press the quarters loosely together before baking.Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until the edges start to brown and the cracker is turning golden. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. As soon as the crackers are cool enough to touch, break them up into smaller pieces.All recipes tested by Susan Selasky for the Free Press Test Kitchen. Nutrition information not available.